'Letter to death penalty lovers on Facebook'

By Debolina Dutta

The death penalty for some of those who raped and killed Jyoti Singh Pandey may bring a sense of satisfaction to some. But let’s not fool ourselves by calling it justice. It’s more like revenge, saysDebolina Dutta

FB walls have always been a quick and easy source of knowledge, news and views from around the world. On politics, tan removal, cinema, social issues, how to have a fulfilling love life, how to lose belly fat in three days, home remedies for gas and constipation, and how to tackle violence against women in 10 steps, to name a few. Now, FB walls serve another purpose.Read More

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Dirt and the Delhi Jal Board

‘Dirt’, British anthropologist Mary Douglas famously explained, is ‘matter out of place’. Dirt, on its own, does not mean impurity, contamination or pollutants. Dirt is what we, as a society, designate as ‘unclean’, thereby giving birth to a social order and its boundaries. Outside the boundary is ‘dirt’ or ‘dirty’, marking the purity of what lies within the boundary.

Coffee shops, cricket and a pogrom

Kai Po Che cleverly supports the idea of the Indian nation as one that is secular in appearance, neoliberal in conduct and Hindu at the core, says Oishik Sircar

Paisa wasooland relaxed redemption

Much has been written about the recent Hindi feature film Kai Po Che (KPC). The 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat is not central to the film's story, yet it has become what the film has been most noticed for.Read More

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Exile, through the lens

By Kavita

Most of the films screened at the Tibetan Film Festival and the Dharamsala International Film Festival had a strong political theme, reflecting the trauma of a people fenced in and outnumbered at ‘home’, silenced in exile

It’s the last week of October, a busy week for Dharamsala, a small town unlike any other in the Himalayan foothills.

Good governance + mass mobilisation = Social inclusion

By Subhash Gatade

Why is the health, education and nutritional status of SCs, STs and minorities in Tamil Nadu and Kerala so much better than their counterparts in states like UP and Bihar? The India Human Development Report 2011 suggests that this is the result of good governance and massive mobilisation of the lower castes in the southern states, writes Subhash Gatade

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Socialism after Gore and the old guard

By Rajni Bakshi

There is no dearth of citizens’ movements for rights today. But do they have the ideological frame, the vision of society, economy and politics that Mrinal Gore and her generation of socialist leaders had, which could weave disparate struggles into a larger transformative force, asks Rajni Bakshi

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Children burn guns for peace in Manipur

Children burn toy guns in Thoubal district of Manipur in a protest against the violent culture imposed on them by more than 40 years of insurgency and suppression

With daily reports of violence in the troubled state of Manipur, parents, civil bodies, and like-minded organisations staged a demonstration in Thoubal district against the gun culture in the state and human rights violations.

In a symbolic protest, around 100 children, aged 6-7, brought their toy guns to Tangjen Ningthou school and set them ablaze with parents and local residents joining in.

Human Rights : Background & Perspective

As important as civil and political rights in the Indian context are the rights of the marginalised -- women, tribals, Dalits or lower-castes, and the poor whose survival depends on access to natural resources. It is the rights of the marginalised and of the minorities in the country today that are in peril. The challenge is to empower the poor and marginalised to demand their rights and participate in the public sphereRead More